MEBANE – Members of the Mebane City Council will hear a recommendation Monday from administrators that they vote to continue the use of fluoride in the city’s drinking water.

The fluoridation issue is on the agenda for the regularly scheduled monthly council meeting. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Mebane municipal building.

“It’s pretty much continuing what we’ve been doing for 60 years,” City Manager David Cheek said of the recommendation.

He emphasized that just because administrators recommend fluoride continue being added to the water, council members aren’t obligated to follow the recommendation. They’re free to vote as they feel.

The issue of fluoridation became a hot topic after members of the Graham City Council voted earlier this year to stop adding it to the city water. Because Graham and Mebane share a water supply and plant, Graham’s vote depended on Mebane voting in a like-sense.

If Mebane votes to continue fluoridation, or simply doesn’t take a stance on the matter, fluoride will continue being added to the water of both municipalities.

Cheek said Mebane administrators and council members have been fairly inundated with verbal feedback and printed materials concerning the perceived benefits – and dangers – of fluoride since the matter became publicized.

“There’s certainly a lot of passion about this issue from both sides,” Cheek acknowledged. “One lady left a 500-page report for us.”

He said Assistant City Manager Chris Rollins will make a brief report to the council along with the city’s recommendation that fluoridation continue. Cheek said the decision to recommend the continued use of fluoride comes in part because of feedback administrators received from dentists and doctors who say it’s a valuable additive when it comes to fighting tooth decay.

The city also received a resolution signed by members of the Alamance Board of Health supporting the addition of fluoride to a city’s water supply.

“We weighed it all and I think we’re going to continue,” Cheek said of the recommendation of administrators.

He said those with an opinion on the matter are welcomed to speak to council members prior to the vote. A public comment session is a part of every council meeting, with those wishing to speak asked to sign up to do so. Each individual is allotted up to three minutes.

Cheek said when the board addresses a matter of considerable weight, Mayor Glendel Stephenson also typically asks if anyone in the audience wants to speak before council members vote.

Stephenson said he’d heard from local individuals as well as those who live out of state concerning the issue of fluoride. He said he didn’t expect the recommendation of administrators to take long to deliver.